Joseph Benjamin, Chester

A Saturday road trip over the Pennines meant that by noon I was sitting in a bar in Chester, drinking the first Pinot of the day and celebrating the 30th birthday of the GemBear. This is an important milestone (not the Pinot at noon, that can be quite normal for a Saturday). It is a milestone because I have spent far too long hanging around with a twenty something, when I am pushing forty. The GemBear has also achieved the milestone of finally getting a taste for wine (Pinot Grigio blush, of course) as opposed to the alcopop fizzy sugar water of her twenties.

So it was good news all round. It was even better news when we arrived at Joseph Benjamin, a restaurant and deli run by two brothers named Joe and Ben. We were a party of six and enjoyed a drink in the bar before being shown to our table.

The menus were short, but we all found something we liked. To start, I ordered garlic bread. It was quite a large portion and was probably more suited to a sharing plate than a starter for one. So I shared it!

A had hot smoked salmon with quail’s egg which he said was beautiful. N had a pheasant and chestnut salad which I took a photo of as I thought the presentation was excellent...

For main, I ordered the sausage and mash. There were four sausages served with a really creamy mash. The sausages were award-winning, from the butchers next door, and they were pretty tasty. A side of order of vegetables added a little health to the meal but the side order of chips was unnecessary as the mash was substantial.

A few dining companions had pudding and everyone had coffee. The chocolate brownie looked particularly tempting...

Service was pleasant and the server was happy to answer questions about the food.